Grand Rapids approves water and sewer rate adjustments; typical quarterly bill rises under $5
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Summary
Commissioners approved a water rate increase of 6.8% and a sewer rate decrease of 2.67% for in‑city customers; combined, most households with both services will see a quarterly bill increase of a little less than $5, while partner communities face separate, contractually distinct rate changes.
The Grand Rapids City Commission approved proposed adjustments to water and sewer rates on Dec. 16, 2025 after staff reviewed the calculations and public outreach results.
City staff described the package as unchanged from November’s preliminary presentation. For the City of Grand Rapids the approved adjustments result in a 6.8% increase to water rates and a 2.67% decrease to sewer rates. "If you are living in the city of Grand Rapids and you have both water and sewer, which are most of our residents, your quarterly bill is increasing, if I'm remembering correctly, by a little bit under $5," Speaker 8 told commissioners during the discussion.
Speaker 8 said there were 20 days of public comment following the initial presentation and 26 people were contacted through tabling events and commission outreach; most wanted more information about bill impacts, while a handful raised affordability concerns and others supported the changes to preserve drinking water investment.
Commissioners discussed the equity implications of using late fee revenue to soften increases for some partner communities and signaled a desire to explore alternative approaches in the coming year. One commissioner said the late‑fee mechanism disproportionately reallocates costs collected from financially strained ratepayers and asked staff and the city attorney to examine constraints on how those funds can be applied.
The commission approved the in‑city rate resolution and a parallel resolution covering partner communities served by the system (the latter shows a 6.38% average water increase and a ~3.9% average sewer decrease across the outside communities), with both measures carried by voice vote.
Next steps: Staff will implement the new rates and continue outreach to partner communities that requested briefings; commissioners asked the city attorney to advise on possible policy options for late‑fee use and equity‑focused mitigation strategies.
Attribution and data: Rate percentage figures and the 'under $5' quarterly‑bill estimate were provided by staff during the Dec. 16 presentation. Detailed billing impacts for specific customers will be included in the formal rate schedule and customer notices.
